Amir Asghary, Marie Saghaeian Jazi , Seyed Mostafa Mir , Abbas Doulani , Hamid Reza Joshaghani,
Volume 20, Issue 2 (6-2026)
Background: Gastric cancer (GC), particularly adenocarcinoma, remains a major global health burden with high mortality, largely because of late-stage diagnosis and the limited availability of reliable biomarkers for disease monitoring. Lipid metabolism plays a crucial role in tumor biology, and serum lipid-related markers, including apolipoproteins, have been proposed as potential non-invasive indicators of tumor progression. This study aimed to evaluate the association between serum lipid profiles and tumor stage and histological grade in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma.
Methods: Fifty patients diagnosed with gastric adenocarcinoma were enrolled. Serum levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-C, LDL-C, ApoA1, and ApoB were measured. Patients were categorized into early (Stages I-II) and advanced (Stages III-IV) tumor stages, as well as into moderately differentiated versus poorly differentiated grades. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to assess data normality. Parametric and non-parametric tests were applied accordingly. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: ApoB was the only parameter showing a significant association with tumor stage. Patients with advanced-stage GC had significantly lower mean ApoB levels than those in early stages (52.4 ± 2.6 vs. 63.4 ± 5.2 mg/dL, p = 0.042). No statistically significant differences were observed in ApoA1, HDL-C, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL-C, or VLDL with respect to either tumor stage or histological grade.
Conclusion: ApoB levels appear to decline with advancing tumor stage in gastric adenocarcinoma, suggesting a potential role as a marker for evaluating disease burden. Although no association was found with tumor grade, further validation in larger prospective studies incorporating metabolic and inflammatory covariates is warranted.